Buenos Aires, November 15 (NA) – River Plate, coming off a heavy defeat in the Superclásico against Boca, will visit Vélez this Sunday in the final matchday of Group B of the Torneo Clausura of the Professional Football League.
The match, to be covered live by the Argentine News Agency, will be held at the José Amalfitani stadium at 5 PM with Leandro Rey Hilfer refereeing, while Adrián Franklin will be in charge of the VAR.
If this happens and Lanús wins the Copa Sudamericana, 'Granate' will free up a spot, and 'Millionario' will advance to the group stage. For this match against 'Fortín', the head coach will be without Colombian Kevin Castaño, who is on tour with his national team for the FIFA dates, as well as Lucas Martínez Quarta and Marcos Acuña, both unavailable due to receiving a fifth yellow card against Boca.
Therefore, Enzo Pérez is likely to reappear in midfield replacing Martínez Quarta, while Fabricio Bustos and Milton Casco will come in for the injured Gonzalo Montiel and Acuña, respectively.
'Millionario' left a very poor image against its biggest rival, did not shoot on goal, and worsened the crisis at River, which is now in a complicated position to qualify for the next Copa Libertadores of America. To qualify for the playoffs of this Torneo Clausura, River must only beat Vélez, but in case of a draw or a loss, victories from teams such as San Martín de San Juan, Talleres de Córdoba, Sarmiento de Junín, or Gimnasia La Plata could leave them on the brink or even eliminate them from the championship.
On the other hand, to secure their qualification for the 2026 edition of the continental tournament, River must beat Vélez and for Argentinos Juniors to lose against Estudiantes de La Plata to, at least, enter the preliminary phase.
Additionally, Giuliano Galoppo or Santiago Lencina are fighting for the spot that will be left by Maximiliano Meza, who on Sunday against Boca, had to be substituted at halftime due to an avulsion in his left knee's patellar tendon, so he will be out for three months.
The Colombian Juan Fernando Quintero would return to the starting lineup replacing his compatriot Castaño, which will break the five-man defensive line, positioning himself behind the two forwards who will be Sebastián Driussi and Maximiliano Salas.
For his part, Guillermo Barros Schelotto's team comes off a 2-0 loss last Monday at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium to Gimnasia La Plata in the penultimate matchday of Group B of the Torneo Clausura.
Despite already being qualified for the round of 16 of the tournament, Vélez put its home-field advantage at risk in that stage, and if they lose to River and other results go a certain way, they could end up in the lowest classification positions, which would make them the away team in the knockout phase.
These are the probable lineups and other details of the match: Torneo Clausura of the Professional League - Group B - Fifteenth matchday Vélez Sarsfield - River Plate Stadium: José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires. Referee: Leandro Rey Hilfer. VAR: Adrián Franklin. Time: 5 PM. TV: TNT Sports. Vélez Sarsfield: Tomás Marchiori; Jano Gordon, Thiago Silveiro, Aaron Quiros, Elías Gómez; Rodrigo Aliendro, Agustín Bouzat, Maher Carrizo, Francisco Pizzini, Bruno Valdes; Dilan Godoy. DT: Guillermo Barros Schelotto. River Plate: Franco Armani; Fabricio Bustos, Paulo Díaz, Lautaro Rivero, Milton Casco; Enzo Pérez, Juan Carlos Portillo, Giuliano Galoppo or Santiago Lencina, Juan Fernando Quintero; Sebastián Driussi and Maximiliano Salas. DT: Marcelo Gallardo.
The broadcast will be in charge of TNT Sports. Marcelo Gallardo's team comes into this match after a 2-0 loss to Boca in the Superclásico that was played last Sunday as part of the interzonal of the penultimate matchday of the Torneo Clausura.
